Oceanographic observation platform

ABSTRACT

An underwater viewing vehicle comprising a viewing compartment fixedly attached to a vertical entry tube, a winch for raising and lowering the viewing compartment and all carried on a catamaran.

United States Patent lnventors Larry E. McKinley; 156] Reta n 5561133 William E. Evans both of Escondido Calif.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Appl. No. 860,344 Filed Sept. 23, 1969 569,064 10/1896 Seanor et a1. 1. 61/69 1,048,194 12/1912 Mitchell 114/16.7X Patented Oct. 19, 1971 Assignee The United States of America as I l; 2 1 14 /143 i enledb th S c ta fth N 1'06 1C "pres y e e N W o e 3,527,184 9 1970 McCarty 114/16 FOREIGN PATENTS 135,316 11/1919 Great Britain 114/66 Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assistant Examiner-F. K. Yee

A H B E V T PL TF M OCE NOGRAP 1C0 S R A ION A UK Att0rneys-Edgar.l.Browerand Roy Miller 1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 114/66,

61/69 R, 1 14/16 R ABSTRACT: An underwater viewing vehicle comprising a Int. Cl 1363b 35/00 viewing compartment fixedly attached to a vertical entry tube, Field of Search 1 14/66, 16, a winch for raising and lowering the viewing compartment and 16.4-16.8, 49, 53, .5; 61/68, 69, 81-83 all carried on a catamaran.

WATER LINE PATENTEnucT 19 MI O O o O 0 a O O O a a SHEET 1 [IF 2 WATER LINE FIG.

INVENTORS, LARRY E. MC KINLEY WILLIAM E. EVANS ROY MILLER ATTORNEY.

SHEET 2 [IF 2 I PATENTEDucne I971 FIG.

1 OCEANOGRAPIIIC OBSERVATION PLATFORM GOVERNMENT INTEREST BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many marine observation vehicles are in use at the present time, however, they are normally high-pressure vessels accommodating one or more persons in the hull below the water surface for viewing through ports. In view of the depth at which they are operating, these vessels are necessarily large and expensive to build, present high inertia and frictional drag against movement when underway and are very slow and expensive to move from location to location in the water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a side elevation of the invention with the observation chamber in lowered position and a fragmentary showing of the catamaran hull; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. I, the catamaran hull on which the observation chamber is mounted is shown in fragmentary section at with a command cabin 11 mounted on the forward portion thereof. The cabin 11 is used to control the catamaran while underway and for controlling the winches used in raising and lowering the observation chamber.

The observation chamber itself comprises a central cylindrical portion 12 formed from mild steel plate to which are secured hemispherical observation members 13 and 14 respectively. The hemispherical members are formed from Plexiglas, i.e., acrylic, methacrylic. The Plexiglas hemispheres are secured to the outer ends of the cylindrical portion 12 by means of retaining rings 15 and 16, respectively. The retaining rings are again formed from a mild steel and held in position against the flanges on the Plexiglas hemispheres by means of bolts spaced as illustrated about the circumference of both the retaining rings. There are no holes through the Plexiglas flange in order to obviate cracking and fracture of the Plexiglas. A sealing material is applied between the Plexiglas hemisphere and the central portion 12 and could be grease or any other suitable low-pressure seal.

The cylindrical member 12 is approximately 5 feet in diameter and arranged internally so that persons may sit therein on benches along both sides and observe both fore and aft through the Plexiglas hemispheres l4 and 13, respectively.

Attached to the upper side of the central cylindrical member 12 is an extended cylinder 17, again formed of a mild steel which is used as the entry and egress means and also the central guide means for raising and lowering the observation chamber. The length of the extended cylinder 17 is approximately l5 feet overall with a usable depth of 8 to 10 feet. The extended cylinder 17 is raised and lowered vertically by means of winches such as that illustrated at 18. Winch 18 is used for raising the observation chamber while another winch (not shown) located forwardly is used for lowering the observation chamber. The raising and lowering are done by means of cables illustrated as at 19 and 20, respectively. The cables run over pulleys illustrated at 21 and 22 for the raising and 23 and 24 for the lowering.

A support member is provided which is rigidly attached to the deck of the catamaran over the open well thereof for supporting the extended cylindrical member 17 during the raising and lowering operations and while the catamaran is in transit from position to position. The support structure comprises a lower frame 27 and upper frame 28. The upper and lower frames are attached to the deck of the catamaran b angle members shown at 29, for example. The upper anti lower frames and the angles are formed of structural steel l-beams.

Spaced at about the frame structure 28 are guide rollers as shown at 30 for allowing as frictionless as possible a raising and lowering of the extended tube member 17. Only one guide roller is shown for the purposes of illustration.

The central cylindrical portion of the observation chamber contains an electrical panel and an intercom for communication between the control cabin 11 and the chamber. The extended cylindrical portion 17 is adapted to receive a removable ladder so that the observers can leave and enter the observation chamber. The chamber is also provided with blowers so that fresh air and ventilation can be provided for the observers when the observation chamber is in a submerged position. Interior demisting is also accomplished while the blowers are in operation.

The catamaran and the observation chamber are very well adapted for quick and rapid movement to and from observation positions or when moving the entire unit from a shore station to an observation station in that the observation chamber, in its raised position presents minimum underwater drag. On the other hand, the observation chamber may be rapidly lowered and raised through coordinated use of the two winches so that when in the proper geographic location the observation chamber may be lowered rapidly and the observers gain entry thereto. Further benefit is had in that the catamaran may be moved, admittedly at a lower rate of speed, while the observation chamber is in a lowered position so that the path of migratory sea life may be observed in situ.

What is claimed is:

1. An oceanographic observation platform comprising in combination;

a watercraft having a catamaran-type hull for surface water movement;

an observation chamber having a central cylindrical portion with Plexiglas hemispheres attached thereto at either end for subsurface underwater observation;

mounting means connected to said watercraft and mounting said observation chamber for vertical movement on a vertical centerline;

said mounting means comprising an extending tubelike member attached to the top portion of said observation chamber; said tubelike member functioning as an entry and egress means and as a guide member which is adapted to move in a vertical direction through said mounting means;

roller means spaced at 120 about said mounting means for guiding said extended cylindrical portion in its vertical movement from an elevated to a lower position and return; and raising and lowering means connected to said observation chamber and tubelike member for moving the observation means from an upper position to a lower position and vice versa for undersea observation and transport. 

1. An oceanographic observation platform comprising in combination; a watercraft having a catamaran-type hull for surface water movement; an observation chamber having a central cylindrical portion with Plexiglas hemispheres attached thereto at either end for subsurface underwater observation; mounting means connected to said watercraft and mounting said observation chamber for vertical movement on a vertical centerline; said mounting means comprising an extending tubelike member attached to the top portion of said observation chamber; said tubelike member functioning as an entry and egress means and as a guide member which is adapted to move in a vertical direction through said mounting means; roller means spaced at 120* about said mounting means for guiding said extended cylindrical portion in its vertical movement from an elevated to a lower position and return; and raising and lowering means connected to said observation chamber and tubelike member for moving the observation means from an upper position to a lower position and vice versa for undersea observation and transport. 